January 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
A convicted felon arrested in November after he was found illegally in possession of a handgun was sentenced Wednesday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
38 year old Jerry Shawn Kelsey of Sparta entered a plea by criminal information to felon in possession of a weapon and received a five year TDOC sentence on probation and he must forfeit his weapon.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Sunday, November 11 at 1:35 a.m. a deputy was patrolling when he noticed two occupants in a black car with its headlights off setting at a business on East Broad Street.. The deputy stopped and spoke with the driver, Kelsey. An NCIC computer check revealed he had active warrants against him in Van Buren and White Counties. A further background check found that Kelsey has multiple felonies against him including theft of property over $10,000, aggravated burglary, and other charges. The officer recovered a handgun under the driver seat after Kelsey admitted it was there. The gun was a black 380 caliber pistol Jimenez Arms.
26 year old Nathaniel Dylan Tippens entered a plea to unlawful possession of a weapon and sale of over 0.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Tippens received a six year sentence on the weapons charge and eight years in the drug case to run concurrently and all suspended to supervised probation except for 180 days to serve. He was given jail credit from August 5, 2018 to the present. Tippens must also forfeit his weapon.
On August 5, Central Dispatch received a call stating that Tippens was walking down Restview Avenue carrying a rifle. As the officer was enroute, the caller further reported that Tippens had gotten into the passenger side of a gold car. The vehicle then left the area. Police spotted the gold car on Highland Avenue and initiated a traffic stop. The officer ordered Tippens to get out of the car and then removed a black “Buckhunter” rifle from the passenger seat where Tippens had been sitting. Tippens has a 2015 felony conviction against him for burglary and theft.
The drug offense occurred on May 9, 2018.